* And Ald. Aurenda Troutman was absolutely steamrolled, losing by 30 points, yet she, too, refused to concede. Troutman even claimed there was some sort of evil conspiracy in the counting that somehow deprived her of a victory.

I’m wondering what you think of all this. Are these aldermen just isolated nutballs, are they just so arrogant that they couldn’t imagine ever losing, or do they have no respect for the voters’ wishes? Or is it something else?

We have a couple of other local election threads here, so let’s try to stick to the topic at hand. I really am curious what you make of these clowns (or “buffoons,” as the case may be.)

And, please, don’t try to claim that there weren’t enough results in last night for the three to realize what had happened to them. The Natarus race was over by 8 o’clock, as were the other two contests.

Since I am in “moderation” detention, you may never see this, but here it goes.

The question is raised, can so many Chicago aldermen be such “nutballs”? Yes, actually. I recently spoke with a well-known Chicago journalist who did extensive reporting on Chicago’s aldermen. He stated that even he was shocked at how “profoundly stupid” and “out of it” many aldermen were. The best reason for that appeared to be that in wards which cover undistinguished, non-affluent neighborhoods, the only qualification for alderman is to be a more than less reliable bureaucrat. And that doesn’t require intelligence, good judgment, or good character. Minimal press coverage doesn’t help. Is anyone really surprised that this is the urban version of “Walking Tall”?

They are arrogant. They have been in office so long that they have forgotten who helped them get in in the first place. Daley is the same way although he seems to not need any of his former friends or anyone else.
Will the mayor learn a lesson from the defeat of a lot of his lackeys? Not likely with over 70% of the vote.

I think you’re a bit off here Bill. Troutman got beat because of her own problems, regardless, of the Mayor. Hence, Cocrahan’s comments about working with the Mayor after he won. Natarus was defeated with the help of the unions and mainly because he was out of touch with most of the evreyday issues in his word, as described in depth by commenters on this blog. Beavers was a Daley ally but a terrible candidate and was running against a heavily financed, popular candidate. Surely, a loss for Daley, yet Daley carried these three wards himself. Arrogant and effective are not synonymns last I checked.

I largely agree with “the other anonymous.” I think Natarus and Beavers view the office as their entitlement. They can not fanthom not winning. They also are so insulted that their opponents ran against them, that they don’t think the opponent is owed a congratulations.

I don’t think Troutman is a nutball. She is simply trying to cast herself as the victim and setting up for her eventually comeback.

Correction, Sandi Jackson won by almost 25 points. Bill Beavers must have smoked a carton yesterday. A very strong rebuke from the 7th Ward to vote overwhelmingly for a relative outsider in Jackson. This kills Beavers’s dream for a South Side machine and puts Todd Stroger on pins and needles.

Does anyone ever know what happened to Rich Gordon? That is a vastly underreported story, given he came close in 2003 and had been one of the more active Republicans over the last few years. Now he just disappeared.

Outsider:
As a long time 42nd ward resident, I almost never heard from Gordon. His organization had almost no cash (in an are that should skew Republican) and in 2003 he ran no campaign. That is almost a joke: “That guy’s such a lousy operative he can’t raise money for Republicans in the 42nd.”
I believe we need a strong two party system as a result, I would love to see a strong GOP Committeeman in the 42nd.
If Gordon doesn’t retire, he should have a first class opponent in 2008.

Burton Natarus looked as if he were Elmer Fudd trying to hunt down Bugs Bunny yesterday. He is a foolish politician who had narrowly managed to hold on to his position on several occasions in the past. This time he did not have George Dunne to carry him across the finish line.

Collectively, the Chicago City Council has become increasingly mediocre. There are fewer educated and professional types on the Council than in decades past. One of the HDO worthies on the Council is a former garbage collector.

Crow is a bitter dish. Eating it with dignity would get them more respect. Unfortunaltly, Alderman and dignity are two words seldom used in the same sentence. The denal, in part,is due to very few being qualified to work in the private sector.

Having seen Troutman and Natarus in action, its not a surprise that they behaved classlessly on Tuesday night. While it’s easy to look at them and not be shocked that they got the boot, the fact is that they’ve been acting this way for 17 and 36 years and getting re-elected. Besides, when you’re sitting next to Dorothy Tillman, Berny Stone, and Bill Beavers it’s easy to think that any incumbent can get re-elected in Chicago.

As for Beavers, it was her first election as a candidate and she just looked shell-shocked watching her dad’s machine get steamrolled.

Peraica still qualifies as the sorest loser in recent nmemory with his ill-advised march on the Board of Elections. Troutman’s conpiracy remarks were utterly ridiculous, reflecting paranoia and arrogance. Naturus has become a buffoon, but I didn’t see him as particularly ungracious last evening - he seemed reasonably philosophical about his loss. It’s hard to understand why Beavers didn’t concede promptly given Jackson’s margin of victory.

My favorite concession remark came from Morris Udall in a 1976 presidential primary: ‘ The people have spoken - the bastards.”

Troutman seems to be losing her mind. Beavers thought it would be easy to keep the seat in the family and smacked hard by reality. And Natarus is a bit shell-shocked, but after he refused to concede he said, “If I don’t make it, just remember, I’m going to apply for my pension. “I’ve had a good run,” he said. “I’ve had my time.”
Sounds kinda like a concession to me, just not very public (the Trib says he said that to some reporters). He knows its over.

Honest Abe,
Since when does being either educated or professional equate to being honorable or ethical? What’s so bad about a former garbage collector now being an alderman? Are all the citizens of Chicago highly educated and/or professional? Shouldn’t those who get their hands dirty doing essential services also be represented by the Council? What about the concept of the citizen legislator–is that only predicated upon the citizen being educated or professional?

Cermak Road (as in Pushcart Tony Cermak?), being from a blue collar background has nothing to do with being a good or bad member of the City Council. My cynicism has to do with the Hispanic Democratic Organization backing of the nonentity referred to in the earlier post. The City Council has been a den of thieves historically, but the current group is filled with dozens of mediocrities that make the Council Wars group look like the delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

I like the results in the 32nd, a whopping 8000 voters bothered to come out in a ward that pays some of the highest taxes in the city. Is it just too cold for people to come out this time of year or do they just love that Matlak head tax he’s helped impose?

Skeeter, since you seem to want to go out of your way to trash someone, please let me say that:

1. Rich Gordon had enough money lined up if he wanted it. He did not run for other reasons. (For example, I have been told that the unions offered Gordon the $100K money and support before Reilly. I would have been disappointed to see him take it, but that would have been his call.)

2. Gordon ran the best GOP organization in the City, by far, and delivered the Ward to GOP candidates on a reasonably consistent basis, given the registration. His organization never ran out of money. (BTW, if you were actually as knowledgable as you self-portray, you would have known that Gordon stepped down as 42nd Ward GOP Committeeman some weeks ago.)

3. You are a poor winner. Let’s hope your arrogance is not indicative of the people close the new Alderman, or it will be a long four years for the residents.

Outsider,

Rich Gordon has, as noted above, stepped down to gain time for other things, is greatly enjoying life without politics (for a while, at least), and is a very happy man. I spoke with him on Election Night - he has no regrets about not running, and wishes the new Alderman all the best.

Darciel Beavers lost in part because of a backlash against her father and Todd Stroger.

Rich Gordon could of won this election but what some politicians don’t understand is that not everyone wants to always be involved in politics or run for office or be an official.

The City Council has been dumbed down. Some of the smart ones are content to make money and power on their local level. Bob Fioretti could challenge the structure as he is even smarter than Ed Burke.

How could anyone vote for Burton Natarus?
How could anyone vote for Bernie Stone?
How could anyone vote for Dorothy Tillman?
How could anyone vote for Arenda Troutman?
How could anyone vote for Shirley Coleman?

There are some real dubious alderman in Chicago. Past and present. Hopefully a few more will be past. Good riddance to Burt Natarus.

Even if he is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they? â€
â€”U.S. Senator Roman Hruska, in defense of Harrold Carswell’s nomination against charges that he was “mediocre

Don’t blame me for the fact that nobody in 42 has heard of your friend. He failed to build an organization. That is his fault, and not mine. I would like to see a strong GOP in 42 and it should be an easy thing to do. But Gordon sure was the wrong guy for the job.

As I said — I’ve been in 42 for over 10 years and never heard of him. Based on what you said, I don’t know who the 42nd Ward GOP Committeman is, or whether there even is one.

Given the way the start party is run, that is not exactly a shocker. Blame them for it. Don’t blame me.

One additional note for Bubs (and this is getting far off the point of the original post so I won’t continue down this road):

Gordon had $7,000 on hand at the end of 2006 as GOP Committeeman and Friends of Gordon had $4,000.00. It is pretty clear that he never contemplated a run for alderman, as he raised all of $200 in the second half of 2006.

And you believe that this guy was in shape to run for Alderman? You really believe that he had a choice and that he was doing a fine job?

I loved the line Ms. Beavers kept repeating to the press–that she was losing because multiple candidates were dividing up the vote. Well, when one candidate gets 57%, it really doesn’t matter who else is “dividing” up the remaining vote.

Well to sum it all up - Chicago certainly is the city that works!! I know of no other city that has wards and aldermen that take care of their constituents, for the most part, to such a degree. They have managed to preserve the ethnic character of the differing areas of Chicago while coming together for the common good. Sure, a few bumps from time to time, but such a rich history of consistent performance.

I used to coordinate election day operations for some independent Democratic candidates on the north side lakefront. I am stunned by Sandi Jackson’s comment election night that she had 1,000 volunteers working for her in the 7th Ward.

Even if she is over estimating by a few hundred it implies an immense ward operation. The largest ward level operations I ever saw were in a special aldermanic election in the old days where the independent had 400 workers and the regular organization had 600. (And I didn’t know what to do with some of the 400). What was the 7th Ward like on this election day? How were the Jacksons able to put together a precinct operation of this magnitude? The Beaver precinct captains must have been rolled over in the precincts. Anyone have any good 7th Ward election day stories?

I would have to hear the claims, but the idea of election fraud in Chicago doesn’t seem all that unrealistic. These candidates should file suit so that these matters can be investigated, if they really believe that there were problems.

…Yep, seems to about sum it up. Had Daley’s patronage army not fallen apart in the last four years, these three (and several of the run-offs) wouldn’t have been knocked out.

Daley may be his own man now (not needing an army to win but winning on ‘merit’ alone), but the city council may also be coming into its own more formally than it has in even the past few upstart years.

Congratulations to Mr. Simmons. I hope he builds a strong organization that can make Chicago Democrats take the GOP seriously and keep the Democrats honest. I admittedly hope he loses every race, but I hope he loses them in squeakers. If he builds a real operation it will benefit all of us in Chicago.

Skeeter, I can see that the election has you just ALL pumped up with yourself.

But consider two pieces of advice. First, it’s a big wide world of politics out there, so when you win today, you should do so with the knowledge that you can lose tomorrow. Second, I suggest you stick to topics you know something about. This obviously is not one of them.

Stick to what you know [and if you can identify any such topic, please identify the topic]. You are not from the 42nd so you don’t really have a clue whether or not Gordon had an organization.

The fact that Gordon failed to create an organization is not my fault. It is his. And it is the fault of the Republican Party. If you think that he had an organization, then either you don’t know what an organization is or you have never been to the 42nd.

I’m from here, and I’ve never heard of him. Until 3:27 today, I had never heard of Simmons. No whining on your part is going to change that. If they had an organization, I would have seen it. I haven’t. And I’m from here.

You rambled on last week about how Reilly was going to lose and how Natarus’s union ads were going to hit hard. As I told you, they didn’t have the slighest impact and moreover, the Natarus TV ads were a joke. I recognized that and you didn’t. You didn’t know what you were talking about then, and you don’t know what you are talking about now.

You need to stop talking about 42. You don’t have a clue what’s going on here.

And if you think I’m gloating, wait until we actually have a contest. My candidate didn’t beat yours, so this is not gloating. When my candidate does, you may well hear from me again. Then I will gloat. If you don’t like it, build an organization that can beat the Democrats. Stop whining and start building.

Skeeter, sorry, but no more time left today for a barking chihuahua that thinks it’s a St. Bernard simply because Brendan Reilly won an Aldermanic race (as I predicted, by the way, so I guess I know something.) Maybe tomorrow.

Nice commment Bubs. Why is it always the dumb guys who talk of their intelligence?

You spend a lot of time typing about your great wit and learning. You really don’t display it though. When you go home, try and come up with some thoughts.

Other than bashing me, you really haven’t come up with anything. “Gordon has a fully functioning, although invisible to ward residents, organization” doesn’t really count as a quality idea. You are a smart guy. You told me so. You should see that.

As I said, there is zero connection between Reilly and Gordon. Reilly didn’t beat Gordon. You can’t gloat over winning when the other person wouldn’t fight. The Gordon thing has nothing to do with Reilly. They are completely different matters. I am not gloating when it comes to Gordon. I was hoping he would run a high quality organization. He didn’t, and that has nothing to do with Gordon. If you had any knowledge of the 42nd, you would see that.

You should drop by 42 some time. Its a great ward. Lots of great restaurants, and Navy Pier! What you will not see is a functioning GOP, but we both know that.

Are you Rich Gordan’s mother? You are not taking criticism of him too well. Sorry for saying mean things about your boy, Mrs. Gordon.

First you were obsessed with the fact that I am “gloating” and now you believe that I am “emotional.” You seem to spend a great deal of time caring about me. I should be flattered by the attention.

What’s with the insults anyway? Why do you have to attack me for pointing out the obvious — i.e. that Gordon did a miserable job running the 42nd for the GOP? Everyone knows that you. “Rich Gordon can’t raise money for the GOP in 42.” What else needs to be said?

It is hilarious that nobody knows who the 42nd ward GOP committeman is, and yet you blame Democrats for that.

Next you are going to blame us for the today’s rain.

You really should stop posting and start reading. Win something, and then comment. Otherwise you just look bitter and ridiculous.

Bubs, it makes my day to know there is some angry little College Republican out there who is enraged that I think Gordon has done a lousy job, who hates unions, and is annoyed beyond belief that Reilly won yesterday.

You don’t “rile” me. You amuse me with your sense of self-importance matched well to your complete lack of substantive argument.

I think this is hilarious. Just knowing that there is somebody out there calling himself “Bubs”, who believes himself to be a wonderful wit and who thinks that Rich Gordon ran a fine organization makes my day. I sleep better knowing the future competition is that weak.

Seriously Bubs, post somethng here when you graduate. We will all send our best wishes.

This is what I refer to as the entitlement mentality. These folks believe in the old divine right of kings. I am the state as Louis the fourteenth said. When you lose be gracious enough to concede. Have respect for your office and the people you represent.

Bubs, Reilly made it look easy. It wasn’t. If you knew the first thing about that campaign, you’d know it. As a former 42nd Warder, I can safely say that Rich Gordon was not gonna win that race. He had no real idea how to win. Getting relatively close is one thing. Winning is something entirely different.

I know Rich Gordon, and he is a nice enough man. I do not understand what all the attacks on him are about. He might have won, he might have lost, he probably could not have matched the money spent by Brendan Reilly on TV ads. It is good that Natarus lost to anyone.

Skeeter, please stop. Bubs, please stop egging him on.

I understood that Eloise Gersen is the new Republican Committeeman in 42. Has that changed?

I just wanted to make a comment about Carina Sanchez. She claimed to be one of us (resident). I was on my way to the poll to go vote when I saw her get out of a car with tinted windows a slew of body guards wearing ear pieces. This girl acted as if she was the president. Of course, this turned me off and I ended up voting for someone else. What are these people thinking?